Joint Ownership
by Ghostly Hand's Pen
Summary: Prologue takes place 50 years after the Back to Nature game begins. Jack, a now successful farmer, is now ready to retire. He leaves the farm to his three grandkids to run the farm between the three of them. Review and tell me what you think!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer and Side Note**: I don't own _Harvest Moon_. I think towards the end my mind sort of wandered into _Eureka Seven_ with naming the grandkids, I don't own that either. Wait... Hold on a sec... Glances at lawyers. Lawyers shake their heads and give me a thumbs down. No I still don't own _Eureka Seven _or _Harvest Moon_... _Poo_... Just a warning, but I read over this just a minute ago and it's a bit boring. There's not much of a plot going for it now so as much critisim as humanly possible to fit in that review box is greatly appreciated. Read it and weep. (Is that how the expression goes?)

Joint Ownership

Prologue

Jack had run the farm for 50 years… every day from the moment he arrived, till now. Now it was time to quit.

Jack took a pen in his hand and found an old sheet of paper hidden between the pages of his diary. The page had probably been sitting there for a good couple of months, ever since his son – the lawyer – had given it to him. The words at the top of the page were still there, just as they had been all those months ago when he had taken one glance at them mumbled something under his breath and shoved them between two random pages of his diary. They stated simply, bluntly, and quite insensitively in bold, flowing lettering the two words: My Will.

At the time Jack had been insulted by the infuriating piece of paper his son had given him. But since then he had lost his wife of 45 years, Mary, to heart disease. It had put a dent in his stubborn attitude that he was still capable of running the farm by himself give or take a few young and willing hands every so often. But this morning had been the final eye-opener.

He thought about old Saibara for the first time in ages. The old man had worked at his craft clear up to his death, when Jack was in his mid-forties. He was so blindly insistent that he was still the most capable man for his job that he hadn't realized how elderly he had become. His eyes had grown weak and his hands clumsy without him knowing – or perhaps he had noticed and was just to stubborn to do anything but deny it – either way Saibara had left the world the same way he came in, with a tool in each hand and a spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child attitude. From what Doctor and Harris could put together Saibara had had a heart attack while working at his ovens, he had likely felt it but - knowing him – ignored it, and finally collapsed while the fire at his oven roared out of control and burnt the building to ashes. The old man died not realizing he had become a liability to his shop and was bringing it down more than he would if he was never there at all.

Jack had stared at his grave the day he was buried and made a promise to himself that if he ever reached a point in his life where his work – or any aspect of his life - would flourish more with his retirement, then – no matter how difficult – he would retire. Now it was time to make good on that promise. Except, he should've done it two months ago, not now when this whole mess been flung in his face and forcedly opened his eyes.

Jack ran his fingers through his scraggily beard; Mary told him once that he only did that when he was thinking hard.

He had no valuable possessions. He had acquired a substantial amount of wealth from his farm and without Mary to spend it all on books it had grown considerably. He'd put it away for retirement. But outside of the money… all he had was the farm.

It put an ache in his heart to think that his animals would have to be sold. Maybe he could sell them to May and Ronny at their farm… If that couldn't happen and he had to sell them to a big corporation maybe he could make amends to them by putting the money to the rebuilding of the farm. _Save the next owner a bit of trouble, hrm?_ _Ah, the next owner of the farm… _

Everyone in the village had their own lives to live and though he got almost regular help from the village kids he was quite aware of the fact that none of them wanted to spend their lives working a dead man's forgotten farm. His and Mary's son had already built a good life for himself. Again his brows furrowed at the thought of his son a lawyer. That was an interesting time in his life, when he found out his son wanted to be a lawyer and an even more interesting time when he found out that he was actually successful at it.

Jack was still mentally going down the line of his family tree when a memory came up on him. The summer his grandkids came to town. It was about ten years ago when they were 10, 12, and 13. They were so happy and satisfied with farm life. All three of them had taken to it almost immediately. He felt overjoyed when he watched the three of them fight over watering the crops and laughed when he watched them try to feed the chickens. Their small, white little hands tossing a handful of chicken feed at a flock of hens and their joyous, high-pitched laughter as they watched the hens swarm in a flurry of feathers.

A twinkle came into Jack's eye then. It was a twinkle only an old man with a bit of a bad streak in him could really pull off. He wondered what his grandkids were up to recently. He hadn't seen them since their grandmother's funeral. He imagined this was how his own grandfather had felt half a century ago when he had wrote Jack's name down on a piece of paper very much like the one in his hand. Taking the farm was the best thing that ever happened to him. It had changed his life. Turned him into an honest man. Brought him to the woman of his dreams. It was where he raised his son and where he introduced his grandkids to a world they had never experienced. It was where he raised hundreds of animals and grew countless plants that fed a million people. It was where he buried his faithful dog. And where he sat with his wife in her final moments. Where, just that morning, he had nearly destroyed it in a fire and nearly cost some kid his life.

The place deserved to be carried on. This was just his final attempt to save it. He could at least do that.

On the single sheet of paper, under the bold and flowing words that read, 'My Will,' Jack wrote two sentences.

"_Bury me next to Mary. I leave the farm to my grandkids: Janet, Maurice, and Renton. _


	2. One Year Later

Hi again! I just fixed some things that were bothering me. Also, it seems there were a lot of people who didn't know what happened between Janet and Samantha. If it's not more clear this time, yes, Janet beat/attacked Samantha. I'm just clarifying that right now. Hope that wasn't too big of a spoiler for anyone who hasn't read this yet. ^-^;

Joint Ownership

~ One Year Later ~

"Oh, NOOOO! Somebody! Please, somebody, help me!" Janet ran through the streets as fast as her feet could move in her red high heeled shoes that click-clacked on the cobblestone. Her fists were clutching the hem of her dark red full-length dress tight enough her knuckles were going white.

Janet turned down an alley and stopped abruptly when she saw it was a dead end. Panting heavily, she ran to a shabby back door of some abandoned restaurant. Locked. Her only escape was locked. Janet pounded on the door awhile before finally turning to face the street.

A dark and sinister figure stalked her. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell by his voice it was a man, "Hello, Miss Webster," he hissed, "It is time to meet your end."

"NO!" she screamed and three piercing gunshots fired immediately after.

"Cut! We finished the scene everybody! Let's take a break!" a tall big man shouted to his cast while getting out of the director's chair. There were a few minutes while people scattered and cameras clicked off.

"Oh, and I almost forgot! Our lovely Miss Webster, being shot and all, will be leaving us after this. How about a final farewell to Janet?"

The room erupted in whoops, claps, and cheers for Janet while the dark and sinister figured politely walked over and helped her off her butt where she fell in the roll.

"A wonderful performance. Way to go out with a bang," said the dark and sinister figure giving her a winning smile that got him the part of the disturbed murderer. _Why does a disturbed murderer need a shining, perfect smile in the first place? What the hell do murderers have to smile at?_

Janet smiled at him, _So cute_, she thought, _Damn you and your smile_. _Keep smiling like that and you can almost forgive that bad pun._

"Thanks, Adam," she finally said.

She made her way through the endless swarm of cheering cast members, dodging the onslaught of 'Good jobs' and 'We'll miss you' and the occasional but worst of all 'Hey, at least you get to sleep in tomorrow!'

She made it to the women's dressing room only because the chef's were opening up the buffet table. Free for everyone working with the show! Janet made a mental note to stuff her pockets when she left.

She sat in her chair that had the words 'Janet Linke' engraved on them and stared at her reflection in the mirror. At the end of the room a few girls were checking their makeup before the next scene was shot. Janet gave herself a weak little smile and sighed. _Look at the bright side_, she thought numbly, _at least you get to sleep in tomorrow…_

Janet sighed again and this time pulled off her red wig. This time a new face stared at her in the mirror. It wasn't sweet and innocent - maybe a bit shy - Marilyn Webster. It was Janet Linke, 22-year-old-as-of-two-minutes-ago-out-of-work-actress. Her long hair was beginning to overwhelm her bobby pins and strands were hanging down in her face. A face that was thin and tanned. Brown eyes (_boring!_ She thought but her agent had waved a finger in front of her face and said: "No, no, no! Boring gets backup parts! Say you have native, exotic brown eyes!"). She had blonde hair in three different shades and a single purple streak through one part of her chin-length bangs.

Suddenly another face appeared in her mirror. Also thin and heavily tanned with long flowing reddish-brown hair. Samantha Curroy – like Janet – played the role of a supporting actress. The director realized one morning that 'two dazzling supporting ladies were taking away the main character's popularity,' or that was how it was sold to her a month ago.

"Hangin' up your dress so early in the season, Janet?" mocked Samantha.

Janet snorted and turned around in her chair to face the incubus in drag. She put on her best cocky smile and said: "I quit. I saw way back that this show was doomed to be just another second rate soap opera, and I didn't want to be stuck in the same best-friend-role for the next three years."

Samantha didn't falter for a second. If anything she smiled even wider and hissed through her shining clenched teeth, "Yes, I can see how that would be bad. It was probably a smart move. With your acting talents you'll be picked up in no time."

Janet smiled broader and gave herself a mini pep talk in her head, _Don't let her bother you. You don't want to leave here in a big argument. Have a graceful leave. Don't let her bother you. You don't have to leave here in a big argument. Have a graceful…_

"I would wish you good luck, but you probably don't need it. See ya around, Janet." Samantha twirled over her right shoulder and headed out the dressing room door.

I will have a graceful leave. I will. Graceful leave. Graceful leave. Graceful-

Samantha spun in the doorway for one last comment. "Oh," she shot Janet an ugly look as she said the word, "I _genuinely_ hope you find work soon. So many actresses these days fall out of work and end up in the porno business. Porno is _such_ a dirty business; I'm completely against it. I'd hate for you to encourage the industry by starring in another one of those-"

Way to go out with a bang!

And then Janet snapped. Samantha wasn't even able to finish her sentence.

/////

"Baby, _please_…" begged Maurice, narrowly dodging a lampshade aimed for his head. He bounced back just in time to come into contact with the rest of the lamp a second after it was tugged from the wall.

"Don't you call me _baby_!" screamed Maurice's girlfriend as she stomped around the apartment looking for more solid objects to throw.

"Okay… Okay… Just calm down, remember count backward from-"

"I'm tired of looking at you!! You don't do anything but sit on your ass and… and… my point exactly!" Maurice's girlfriend was fit and active. She was smart and artistic. She had a fiery temper and a winner's attitude. Her favorite thing about herself was her ability to stay active for extended periods of time fueled on nothing but low-fat triple chocolate mocca shakes with two scoops of sprinkles and a dash of whip cream. Her record before collapsing was a straight 124 hours.

"Bab- Honey… You're angry-"

"NO. I'M. NOT…" she hissed through clenched teeth. Then she took a deep breath and sighed. "Maurice, this isn't working. I want you to leave…"

"C'mon you don't mean that, Baby – er, I mean-"

"LEAVE!"

There was silence. No one moved. The apartment was in shambles. Things weren't going very well for him today. Maurice tried desperately to think of something to say to change his girlfriend's mind. He searched for the right words that would change the situation around perfectly. They were there - the answers were always there - he just had to figure them out. He'd fix this situation, and later he'd work on making things better. Eventually, he'd get around to everything that needed doing. There was time for everything later, but now a lot of things were just happening at once. He was just a little busy, but when things cleared up-

Suddenly the phone in the hall rang.

No one moved.

One ring. Two.

"Aren't you going to get that? You do nothing else around here," hissed the woman standing in front of him.

Maurice moved slowly. Four rings.

"Hello? … Janet? This is sort of a bad time… I'm a little busy! Um, can I call you back? …Why not? …You're in jail?! Janet hold on… Stop crying, I'll come and get you! … Janet, stop. I need you to listen… Okay? Now where are you? … All right. Now I'll come and get you. Okay? I'm hanging up now… When I hang up I'll be on my way… Okay… Bye."

Maurice turned back to his latest girlfriend. "Janet's in jail. I have to go get her," he said. He began to walk past her to the door.

"I'll send your things to Janet's apartment," she said.

Maurice turned to her, "Angelica, please… Can't we settle this later?"

Angelica looked at him, "As far as I'm concerned, this has already been settled."

/////

As far as Renton was concerned, Scooby-Doo was the real "danger to children."

"I'm very sorry ma'am…" muttered Renton.

"You better be! And I want him fired!" yelled a middle aged woman with frizzy hair who waved a fat finger in his face.

Renton didn't know what to do. He was a 20-year-old kid and skinny – not the good skinny - the scrawny little man skinny. He wore thick glasses - eyesight equivalent to a dead bat. His skin was bleached white skin – ya gotta admit, he kicked butt at internet games. What was he supposed to do against this huge and terrifying woman?

Ah, yes, this was all Scooby's fault…

Renton's boss and manager of Wurger King – Home of the Bhopper! Now only $1.99! -Mr. Shanks looked at him. He looked at the angry mother still gripping her young daughter in a headlock of intense love.

"It was not Renton's fault," Mr. Shanks finally stated.

"He is a danger to children! My daughter nearly choked!"

"On the toy," calmly stated Mr. Shanks, "Not on Renton or anything that had anything to do with Renton."

Renton stared at the cute grinning image of Scooby-Doo still clutched in the woman's big fist. The pieces of its broken key chain were being smothered in her other hand. Everyone around stopped and stared at the scene. Business in Wurger King halted so gorilla woman could have her chance to kill Renton.

The key chain in the woman's hand had broken while the daughter of said seemingly insane woman was _chewing_ on it. A piece of the keychain had broken free lodged itself in the throat of the daughter of the gorilla god mother, choke her until a selfless, dedicated, hard working nurse waiting on her Bhopper meal and salad reacted, and thus saving the poor girl's life. All this had happened in front of Renton mere seconds after he had given the toy to the daughter of the woman who looked like she could break his spine with any part of her body. The little girl was fine - barely shaken - and was asking for a new toy, much unlike Renton who was still trying not to have a neurotic breakdown.

And now Renton was being blamed. Not Scooby-Doo, not the idiot who came up with cheap Scooby-Doo key chains, not the genius that made the key chain, not the kid who put the key chain in her mouth; Renton was the one getting sentenced to death.

The woman who looked like she could put Superman to shame gave Mr. Shanks a long, hard look and tapped her foot impatiently…

Ten minutes later Renton stood outside of Wurger King only without his specially issued Wurger King hat and nametag. It began to rain. And then it began to pour.

Mr. Shanks appeared by the door, "Y'know," he began, "If you want, you can keep your Wurger King hat… It is raining pretty hard."

"It's okay, Mr. Shanks. This sort of thing happens to me all the time," muttered Renton.

"I'm sorry I had to fire you, Renton. It was just really bad luck she happened to be a lawyer. We can't really take a lawsuit. But if you ever need a recommendation…"

"Yeah."

Mr. Shanks nodded, "Good luck, Renton," and then he disappeared inside Wurger King.

He had no car and his bike had recently been stolen - from inside his apartment. The reason his bike was inside his apartment was because he didn't have a bicycle lock and thought it'd be safer in the long run.

Despite all this, Renton was in no hurry to get home. Home meant he would have to call his dad to see if he could get some money. Where his father would say, 'I'm not lending you any money until you grow a backbone and learn to support yourself!' and then Renton would promptly mumble, ''kay, Pop, just thought I'd ask.'

By the time Renton got home he looked like a hobo. Although he wasn't homeward bound nor did he even want to be home, for that matter. Not his home at least. One twist of his wrist and his doorknob fell off in his hand. Renton stared at it dumbly for a few seconds, and then roughly jammed it back on.

He saw the blinking light above the 'new message' button the moment he walked in the door. He didn't know why he saw that first thing. He didn't get a lot of calls and sometimes weeks passed before he realized there was an unheard message.

He came to the conclusion that, like everything else that day, the call was bad news, and the sole reason he noticed it in the first place was to make his day that much worse.

Renton pushed the door shut and sulked straight up to the answering machine. Through the kitchen, past the bathroom, and across the living room, he pressed 'new message.'

First Renton heard static and then his father's deep voice came on, "_Renton, it's your father. I'm in Little Harvest, on your grandfather's farm…"_

/////

Across town Janet and Maurice just walked into Janet's apartment. She tossed off her coat and kicked off her shoes. Maurice did neither.

"So she kicked you out, huh?" said Janet continuing the conversation in the car.

Maurice only nodded.

Janet also had a new message on her answering machine and hit the button as she walked by on her way to the refrigerator. By then Janet had made a full recovery from her crying fit over the phone.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked.

"_Janet_," a deep voice over a static filled background came out of the answering machine, "_It's your father. I'm on your grandfather's farm in Little Harvest. I need you and your brothers to get out here immediately. Your grandfather… passed away last night. There's… something in his, um, will that concerns all of you. There isn't an airport out here so you'll have to get a flight out of Los Angeles and get off in Eureka. There's a ferry that will bring you to the island called…"_


	3. Grandfather's Will

Holy crap! Here it is! It's here! Finally, after all this time! It's a new chapter! See? See? It's all sparkly and shiny! Sorry for the long period where I didn't update. ^^;

Joint Ownership

~ Grandfather's Will ~

John Linke stared at the paper in his hand in amazement. He read the two sentences for the millionth time again. He didn't even know his grandfather had even _kept_ the will he gave him. The way he remembered his father glowering over the paper after he gave it to him made him assume the stubborn man would rip it to pieces the moment he turned his back. But the fact that his grandfather wrote anything at all on the will wasn't half as shocking as _what_ he wrote on it.

_Bury me next to Mary. I leave the farm to my grandkids: Janet, Maurice, and Renton._

John's stomach did back flips over that combination. None of his children were actually capable of running a farm. Much less, try to run a farm _together_. They'd be at each other's throats within their first week.

Not to mention they each had their own lives to lead. He had begun to like Angelica, Maurice's latest girlfriend, she had a strong will and attitude that he hoped would rub off on Maurice. Renton had finally found himself a steady job and was finally making money. To his surprise, Janet was making moderate success in her acting career - he could now sympathize with his own father's after he told him he was going to be a lawyer.

Strange memories had been forcing their way into his had all day - stuff he'd forgotten about years ago. A nostalgic smile fought its way on John's face as he remembered how his father threatened to disown him the day he told him he was going to be a lawyer. Until now, he never could have imagined that one day he'd smile at _that_ memory.

John shook off his amazement and nostalgia, and began to frown at the paper. He couldn't and shouldn't have asked his grandchildren to stop building their own lives just so his farm could outlive him.

He was angry, but it also saddened him that he wasn't able to fulfill one of the last two requests his father asked of him. It hurt him just as much as it would hurt him to sell the farm that had been in his family since his great-grandfather's time.

There was just no other way; he would not trade his children's future to keep the farm in the family, even if it was his father's last wish. He would sell the land himself, only the law kept him from opening up the phone book and finding a realtor right then. The farm was left to his children so he would have to get legal consent from his three children before he could sell it.

John sighed and placed his father's will in his breast pocket. He looked around the house he grew up in with nostalgia. His father had let the property fall to pieces, and there was little of the decrepit building that retained the memories of the loving home he remembered.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Jack Linke was beloved by everyone here. He was a friend to everyone in the village and helped us all out at one point in our lives. He was a father, husband, grandfather, friend, and neighbor. He's come into all of our lives, strung them together, and left us more suddenly than any of us were prepared for. He was the bond many of us share. And now he has left us. Let us pray he finds eternal peace in the after life and that he may now forever be reunited with his late wife, Mary. Jack, all your ties to this life have now been severed. All but one. The tie in which brings us all here to say our final goodbyes. May you never disappear from our memory. Goodbye…"

"… Old friend," Cliff whispered more to himself after turning away from the grave and the mourners gathered around it. He bit his lip and limped to the side. His black priest robe dragged across the grass of the graveyard.

Over the years, the church grounds grew, eventually leveling the woods behind the property to make room for the expansion of the graveyard.

John Linke made his way up in front of the crowd and with a solemn expression said goodbye to his father. Cliff stared at John, and then at the faces in the crowd. For a second, he could feel the pressing burden of time on his body and soul.

The late Pastor Carter toward the front; Mary was to the right of Jack; Saibara was in a shady corner up front; Lillian was several plots down, next to her husband Tim; Ellen had a sunny plot next to a garden; Duke had a plot by the fence…

Every year the graveyard became home to more people. More of his old friends.

Cliff brought his attention from the surrounding graves and began to scan the crowd. After years of watching the same piece of the world, he had come to notice that whenever someone died, a new face took their place. Whenever someone was born, someone else died.

His eyes fell to the coffin in front of him – the new wood smooth and polished under the weight of several bouquets of flowers - he wondered who would take Jack's place.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

John Linke, Renton, Janet, and Maurice were pulled aside by the mayor and his wife after the funeral.

The mayor's wife was an elderly woman with dark gray hair tied up in a bun on top of her head. She wore hose under a black, formal skirt, a flowery blouse, and a green shawl around her arms. The mayor wore a blue outfit that reminded Maurice of a police officer and made him pray that he wasn't the local sheriff. The old man had a huge, white mustache, but was comically completely bald on top of his head. When the funeral was over the first thing he did was place a black bowler hat on top of that bald head.

The old woman took John's hands in hers and gave him a frail smile, "John, your father was one of the kindest men that ever lived. This village has definitely lost someone with his passing."

The mayor's mustache wiggled as he nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Aja, Harris." John nodded at the elderly couple. He pointed out his children and introduced them to the municipal couple. "I'm going to discuss Dad's will with them now. You're welcome to come along."

Harris the mayor furrowed his big, white eyebrows, "I wish you'd reconsider this whole selling business. I understand that you don't have the time, but your father dedicated his life to that farm-"

John interrupted Harris's guilt-trip by merely shrugging his shoulders and diverting his eyes.

Aja was much more diplomatic than her husband. She dropped John's hands and reached for Harris's. "This town will be sorry to see your family leave here. The Linke's have been here since your grandfather's time, haven't they?" She didn't wait for John to answer. "I suppose you're staying at the local inn? All of you are?"

John nodded. "We were heading over there now."

"Then we'll come along!" Aja smiled bringing some warmth back to the conversation, "Harris and I haven't been over there today, and it's almost lunch."

John, Aja, and Harris all started down the cobblestone walkways. There were two ways to get to the inn and both took about the same amount of time. Janet, Maurice, and Renton followed just out of a whisper's earshot.

"What was Dad talking about selling?" asked Renton breaking the silence.

Janet let out an annoyed sigh, "If you could get here like the rest of us, you would probably know that Gramps left us the farm."

"Easy, Janet," whispered Maurice.

"Grampa left us his farm? To all of us?"

"We _think _Grampa left us the farm. Dad hasn't said anything to us about it yet, but apparently he's griping to every passerby he sees about how he wants to sell. It's just the rumors we've been hearing."

"What do you mean 'easy'?" Janet hissed under her breath just enough to be out of earshot of everyone except her brothers. "He barely made it in time for the funeral. We were waiting on him until about ten minutes before!"

Renton cleared his throat, "M-my plane was delayed. The pilot had a heart attack, and then I was mugged in Eureka…"

"Janet, while we're here will you try not to act like an anorexic Barbie and just be _polite_," hissed Maurice in Janet's ear. No one was listening to Renton.

"_Maurice_," Janet squeaked in a mock imitation of her brother's voice, "Will you try not to act like such a miserable ass while we're here?"

Maurice glared at her, "Calling me names? Real mature, Janet." Maurice shook his head at her and cut in front of her after their father.

Janet didn't waste a minute catching up to him. She stomped after him and slowed down only when she was almost walking on his heels. She lifted her chin and hissed at the back of his head, "You want to hear names, _Mau-rice!_" she clipped his name with a furious tone, "Your lazy, ungrateful, and an enormous ass! You don't care about anyone but yourself! No wonder your _latest_ girlfriend kicked you out-"

"I wasn't kicked out," Maurice hissed over his shoulder. Maurice was trying to keep their voices low because they had now caught up with Renton and their father along with the old couple.

"Oh, really!" gasped Janet feigning astonishment, "Could've fooled me. I mean What's-Her-Name looked pretty pissed when I had to go up there and pack _your_ things for you for the trip out here."

Maurice swung around and glared at his sister, "Will you shut up!" he snapped, "No one's been kicked out! I'm just letting her cool down. Once all this is over I'm going to go back home and-"

Their father was standing beside them glaring down at them with his arms folded. His eyes were red and bloodshot and dark circles formed grooves under his eyelids. His face brows were furrowed and wrinkles creased around his mouth and eyes. Even through his grief, their father was an imposing figure. Maurice shut up immediately and Janet dropped her gaze to the ground trying to act innocent.

"Your grandfather was buried not ten minutes ago," their father's tone was hushed, "The least you could do is at least _act_ like you give a damn."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Bury me next to Mary and you guys get the farm. That's it. That's the entire will." John reached in his breast pocket and pulled out the piece of paper he'd stored in there since before the funeral. He held it out to his children.

Everyone was gathered in the privacy of one of the inn's rooms. The four of them had filled one of the inn's oversized rooms. Given the inn had done some major changes over the years. It had grown, added on rooms to support the tourist season that came in the summer now. Although James and Jessie - Ann's children - still did a lot of the cooking around the inn, a small staff was hired to cook and run the bar for some of the more difficult hours.

Renton reached out and grabbed the paper first. He read over the fifteen words again and again after that just to make sure. "We get the farm?" he said happily when he had assured himself.

The reaction took Mr. Linke off guard, "Well, yes, legally the farm's yours, but…"

"But what? What's wrong?" asked Renton.

"Weren't you listening to the conversation earlier?" Janet snapped already losing patience, "Dad's going to try to sell the farm."

"Why?"

"You gonna run a farm by yourself, Renton?" Janet hissed in condescending words.

"Well… But… Maybe, maybe I will. Grampa did it didn't he?"

"There's a big difference between Gramps and you," sighed Janet suddenly losing interest in the argument now that she'd more or less won.

Maurice had been staying out of the argument more because he didn't feel like sticking up for Renton right then. His mind began to wander. He thought about the way the town and just then this small crazy idea snuck its way in his head. What if he did stay on and run the farm? He had been charmed by the small town since his last visit for their grandmother's funeral almost a year and a half ago. He loved the simplicity of the small town life. It had none of the pressures of the big city he knew. There weren't cars to worry about, gas to spend money on, no terrible traffic, no major crime, no psycho girlfriends, no stress over losing a job or finding one or terrible co-workers that might come with one, there weren't any bad section of the town, there wasn't any noise pollution regular pollution, or…

It was the perfect place for him. Suddenly Maurice convinced himself that the source of all his faults was overstress. Here there wasn't stress or expectations. Surely, he could run a farm with Renton to help - their grandfather did it for years by himself. He wasn't lazy, he could turn himself around if he wanted to, if he had a fresh start…

"You can't sell!" exclaimed Renton brining Maurice back to reality.

"Yes, I can. I'm still your father. I don't want you tying yourself down to this farm - not when you finally have a job set up for yourself! It's a start, but if you stick with it you'll move up and-"

"I lost that job!" blurted Renton.

There was silence. Their father was zoning in on Renton. The dark circles under his eyes, his tired looking eyes, the overnight wrinkles - they all reversed themselves and suddenly he looked recovered enough to stand another family member's funeral.

"Renton-" their father boomed.

"I'll run the farm with Renton," spoke up Maurice suddenly, "I don't have a job either."

Their father turned to him distracted a moment with surprise, "Run the…? What about Angelica? You're in a relationship - you can't just think about yourself all the time. I can't see her wanting to come out here and-"

"Angelica and I broke up already. Things just weren't working out," he said apathetically.

"You're too lazy to run a farm. You won't do anything, but sit around. In fact, you'll probably make Renton do all the work while you womanize this poor town."

"Oh, yeah, Dollywood? Well, you definitely can't run the farm - you might chip a nail. And how is that part as Miss Webster? I heard in the tabloids her days might be numbered."

Janet's eyes flared, "Fine. Then I'll stay on too. Just to prove to you how lazy you really are and how tough I am!"

"Janet!" Their father exclaimed, "What you are already in a commitment. You've been trying to break out in showbiz and now you finally have a job and what are you doing?"

"Filmed the last episode yesterday. Miss Webster has a weakness to murderers," she rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath too low for anyone to hear, "Not that I'll be able to work after beating up a co-actress…"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I'm so happy you all decided to stay!" gushed Aja. The old woman led the three Linke siblings to the farm.

"This is it. The farmhouse is actually quite spacious after all the remodeling Jack and Mary did to it. The actual farm is in quite a disarray and there aren't any animals left."

Maurice and Janet dropped their bags and got their first look at the farm their father grudgingly agreed to let them have.

"That's not spacious," Maurice said. It was smaller than the apartment he shared with Angelica, and that turned out to be too small for them.

"That's a lot more than a 'disarray,'" Janet muttered.

Renton came up behind them all, trying to hold his bags out of reach of a puppy that had followed him and was nipping at his bags. "You guys, a little help! This dog has followed me from somewhere."

"Aw, a puppy," cooed Aja, "Wonder where he came from?"

Janet sighed, "Looks like Distressin' Renton the Dangerous King of Destruction is at his old business again."

Maurice cracked a smile. None of them had called Renton that in years although his bad luck hadn't left him for a second.

"It's not such a bad thing," corrected Maurice.


End file.
